By starting in the hidden spaces you are making room for the clutter that lives in the open spaces. When you enter a room and there is no place to store your items, you will simply put those items down and this is how clutter collects. Next time you are ready to declutter your space, consider the hidden spaces first and see if it helps clear the path so that you are able to find homes for all of your treasures.

10 Symptoms of Clutter

1. Bags full of stuff scattered throughout the home
2. Horizontal spaces are full of miscellaneous items
3. Closets, drawers and enclosed spaces are full and unorganized
4. Multiples of the same type of items
5. Piles of items in the corners of the home or office
6. Lack of any clear space in the home
7. Difficulty in finding stuff when you need or want it
8. Lack of mental clarity
9. Missed appointments
10. Late payments due to lack of organization

Ready to alleviate these symptoms?  YTOT can help.  Give us a call and we can discuss how we can help you find and utilize those hidden spaces!

Darla Pompilio

Your Tasks Our Time, LLC

The post Consider the Hidden Spaces appeared first on Your Tasks Our Time.

The good news is that many organizing projects can be tackled using the same method.  We use the STACK method for our clients because it’s simple, easy to follow and it works on almost any organizing project.

S – Sort: The first step is to sort your items into categories.  You’ll want to put like items with like items, (e.g. paints with paints, pencils with pencils).  This will tell you how much stuff you actually have in any one category.

T – Toss: Once you know how much stuff you have it’s time to take stock and toss any items that you don’t use, are outdated or unusable. I suggest that you keep only what you love or need. Tossing can be anything from throwing in the garbage to donating or selling an item.

A – Assign a Home: This part of the process can be accomplished by asking yourself a few questions.

How you use your items?

Where do you use your items?

How often you use your items?

C – Contain: Containerize any item/s that are possible and feasible to contain. It will help make items easier to find and store.

K – Keep It Up: This may involve building new habits if necessary and practicing putting items away after they’re used.

When the burden clutter is lifted from our shoulders, we may feel physically lighter, more energetic and less stressed. This relief can lead to increased work productivity, greater enthusiasm and better relationships.

Darla Pompilio

Professional Organizer

Your Tasks Our Time, LLC

The post How to Declutter and Organize Any Space appeared first on Your Tasks Our Time.

Shop Online

When we need to complete a project, some of us may simply run to the local craft or hardware store to buy what we need. Given our current circumstances, many stores and businesses have been closed or are running at reduced capacity. Some stores, however, have setup curbside pickup where you order online, drive to the store and they will place your order in your trunk and you never have to leave your vehicle. Another option is to order online and have it shipped to your house. Overnight and 2-day shipping has been eliminated for many sites. So, if you do order online, it may take a few extra days to receive your delivery.

Shop at Home

If there is a project you want to complete, figure out what items you need to complete it. Write out a shopping list if you need it. Then go shopping in your house to see if you already have what you need. Check the garage, the basement, the shed and that closet that has become the dumping ground for all the odd items you’re not sure where to put. You may rediscover items you have forgotten.

Be Creative

If you don’t have everything you need, you may need to be creative. You may discover a solution right in front of you. For example, you’ve been meaning to buy new flowerpots for the front porch but never got around to it. As you search through your house, you realize you have some spray paint and so you paint your old flowerpots and now they look brand new! You may also need to think outside the box. For example, you have a sewing project but no material on hand. As you go through your closets, you realize that you have an old sheet set not being used that would be perfect for your project.

Create a Plan

But what if you’ve searched your house and don’t find the items you need to complete your projects? Sure, you can shop online. But what if you have no income coming in because your employment has come to a halt in recent weeks? You can still plan and organize for your project! Think about what items you need for the project. Then think about what items you have and what items you need to buy. You can go online and do the research to find the items you still need. You can check out different retailers and see what they offer. You can comparison shop to see who has the best price and make note of it. You can also use apps like Pinterest where you can create a virtual board for each project and pin items that meet your needs for that project.

We know this won’t be the same as completing the project, but it will allow you the time to plan and organize your thoughts on the project and plan a budget. Taking the time to plan upfront will hopefully save some money in the long run. Then, when you’re back on better financial ground, you have done the leg work to identify what items you need and where you need to get them, and you can begin to knock off those projects more easily.

Being stuck in the house without the necessary supplies for our projects doesn’t mean we need to put those projects on hold indefinitely.

Karen Kabara

Your Tasks – Our Time

The post Roadblocks to Home Projects appeared first on Your Tasks Our Time.

At YTOT we believe it depends on the individual. It boils down to how you want to live your life? What belongings, what information and which activities are going to serve you? There is a quote by Bill Jenson that we find true “The paradox of simplicity is that making things simple is hard work”. Choosing what to include AND exclude in our lives is a process that takes time and a great deal of effort.

How do you get started? There is a difference between organizing and simplifying and a good place to start is with the physical stuff that surrounds you.

Organizing is a tool that’s used to simplify. Organizing is about finding homes for your stuff and being able to find what you need, when you need it. Finding a home for all your items can have a huge impact on your life. This effect can transform your life.

Simplifying is more about determining what is really going to serve you. Are you going to read or re-read the 300 books you have on your bookcases? Do you value all decorative objects on the flat surfaces of your home? Do you wear the 30 pairs of jeans in your closet? In short, how do you want to live and how much time do you want to devote to your stuff?

The post Organize or Simplify appeared first on Your Tasks Our Time.

Pick Your Battles

Look at your list and determine the cleaning and organizing tasks that make the most sense for this time of year.  For example, closets are a great place to start because this is the time of year we change from winter to spring/summer attire.  Garages are another good area of focus.  Now is the time to put away the snow blower and pull out the lawn mower.  And, let’s be honest, things tend to get piled and tossed into the garage all winter, so it’s time for a garage clean-out.  Your garden shed is another great fit for seasonal organizing.  Inspect and sharpen your garden tools, take stock of your supplies, clean your clay pots and determine your tool storage area based on how often you use the tools. With the onset of warmer weather comes the need to change to lighter blankets and comforters.  Once the bed is striped you can vacuum and turn the mattress to complete the process.

Maintenance is Key

Now that you have decided which areas make sense to organize during the spring season; let’s break the rest of that cleaning and organizing list into manageable tasks to be completed throughout the year.  Baseboards, doors and cobwebs can be dusted and cleaned during the winter when you’re stuck inside during a snowstorm.  Lampshades and ceiling fans can be dusted at regular intervals when you dust the rest of your home. Draperies, blinds and carpets can be cleaned in the fall or the end of the summer.  Many people have self cleaning ovens that can be cleaned any time of the year and grease traps and stove filters are easy to replace or clean on an as needed basis.

Consistency is the Name of the Game

Having a consistent, year around routine will help you avoid investing large chunks of time in the spring.  Instead, get out and smell the forsythia, spend time with family and friends or do whatever makes you happier at this wonderful time of year.  Organizing and cleaning are necessary for a functional life, so finding ways to spread it out and make it easier in the long run will save you endless hours each season.

The post A Better Method for Spring Cleaning appeared first on Your Tasks Our Time.

1) Shop your house and find all those supplies you bought last season at the end of year sale.  Here’s what you will need…

• Wrapping paper
• Tissue paper
• Gift bags
• Gift boxes
• Cellophane and packing tape
• Ribbon and embellishments
• Sharp scissors
• Writing utensils

2) Find a suitable location for your wrapping station. Preferably a room with good lighting and a door that you can lock.  You will need a table, desk or any decent size flat surface for your station.  A 4′ or 6′ folding craft table is a great option because it can be stored away when not in use for the holidays.

3) Now it’s time to set up your station! Your rolls of wrapping paper can be collected in a vertical gift wrap organizer next to your table. Ribbons and embellishments can be placed in baskets and containers on top of your table.  Scissors, pens and colorful markers can be gathered in a festive Christmas cup or jar. Tissue paper and gift boxes can be stored in a desk top file organizer for easy accessibility and color selection. Gift bags can be hung on the wall above the table using removable Command Hooks.

Helpful tip: Consider choosing 1-3 colors of wrapping and tissue paper that can be used for any occasion to avoid having to purchase and store several rolls of wrapping throughout the year.

The post Save Time and Frustration by Setting Up a Holiday Wrapping Station appeared first on Your Tasks Our Time.

Think Small

The summer months are not amenable to tackling large jobs like basements; however, they can be used to work on smaller, organizing tasks that can be accomplished quickly and will enhance the order in our lives.

Closets are a great place to start!   When organizing a small space, I recommend completely emptying the space. This enables you to clearly see everything and makes sorting, purging and cleaning easier while also facilitating the organization of remaining items.

When organizing a closet that holds toiletries or medicines, use open containers to store items that are similar.  This makes them easier to find and prevents items from getting lost or spilling out onto shelves.  Labeling also helps family members locate items at a glance!

Consider Your Pantry

The pantry is another straightforward space to organize! You can also rotate foods that should be used in a timely manner and eliminate items that have expired.  Because the pantry has many items of varying sizes, you can use storage containers, mason jars and perhaps a Lazy Susan to effectively organize it.  Remember to group similar items together and label shelves so that others can arrange your groceries according to your system.

There are many small spaces that can be organized in less than an hour; select one or two per month and you will have accomplished much while still enjoying your summer activities.

Darla Pompilio

Your Tasks – Our Time, Inc

The post Clutter Takes a Grilling appeared first on Your Tasks Our Time.

When the burden of too much clutter is lifted from our shoulders, we may feel physically lighter, more energetic and less stressed. This relief can lead to increased work productivity, greater enthusiasm and better relationships.

The question we need to ponder is why do we purchase so much in the first place?  There are a number of explanations for this compulsion. Often we simply want to possess the latest and greatest stuff because we think it’s fun to own!   We live in a consumer culture and we often validate ourselves by what and how much we can accumulate.   Consumerism and materialism are promoted by advertisers in print and on TV and computers in the form of commercials.  According to Annie Leonard who wrote, “The Story of Stuff”, the two main activities Americans engage in are watching TV and shopping.  We are bombarded by advertising and are exposed to approximately 3000 ads per day. We see more ads in a day then people saw in a year 50 years ago.

Couple that with the fact that the average house size has doubled since the 1970’s and it becomes easy to see why we accumulate so much “stuff”.

Sadly in order to maintain our lifestyles of consumption, many people are working 50+ hours per week.  We work until are exhausted and depleted and then we shop to make us feel better! We return home too tired to do much else than watch TV and the cycle begins anew!!

Is this the way we really want to lead our lives?  If so, fine!  If not, then it’s time to rethink our goals and blithely step off that hamster wheel of consumption and examine saner options!!

The post Cultivate Your Space to Change Your Life appeared first on Your Tasks Our Time.

Shedding the old is easy if we are not attached to our items, but often we are attached to family heirlooms and to those items we have lovingly purchased!  After all, we paid for them and consequently consider them to be good stuff!  These are the items that hinder our efforts as we attempt to un-clutter our lives. The more we accumulate, the more difficult it is to be clutter free.

The costs of clutter are both tangible and intangible.  The tangible costs include financial loss from over spending, late fees on bills, diminished work productivity because we have to spend time locating missing papers and also creating stress that can lead to depression and illness.  The intangible costs of clutter may include social embarrassment resulting from having a cluttered home, distressed personal relationships and even loss of momentum and direction in pursuit of our goals.

Detaching from clutter may be difficult, but it’s worth the time and effort if you truly wish to live a simplified and more fulfilling life

Let’s begin this journey by asking some questions about the items you own:

Do you need the items?  If not, let them go.

Do you love the item? If not, let them go!

Do you use these items on a regular basis or recently? If so maintain those items but keep them at a minimum.

How do you use these items and are they in good working order? How you use an item can shed light on whether the item should be kept.  Items that work improperly or are difficult to use can cause frustration and should not be kept.

What is your relationship to the item? If you feel emotionally attached to an item, ask yourself the following questions.

Does this item bring value to my current life style?

Is this item contributing to the life I wish to lead?

Are you keeping the item because you think you should or because you want to? It’s okay to let go of those items that were given to us by our family members.  It’s fine to keep family items that you treasure, but frequently family members donate items because they believe only other family members would truly enjoy them or would use them properly.

Learning to detach is often a journey that includes creating new habits.  One of the best ways to avoid having to purge, is to ask yourself if you really need or love an item before purchasing it?

Begin by consciously using the method for a month or so, and you will be surprised at how easily you can reduce the clutter in your home and simplify your surroundings.

The post The Clutter Free Life – How to Detach appeared first on Your Tasks Our Time.

Purchasing has a complicated physiology; why do rational people over purchase?  There are several factors at play here.  Mass media is not the only culprit; the availability of credit cards enables people to consume beyond their needs.  According to Los Angeles clinical psychologist and wealth consultant James Gottfurcht, PhD, “They’re conditioning people into building debt at a very young, vulnerable age.”

Other major factors that contribute to overspending according to research by Florida State University social psychologist, Roy Baumeister, PhD is too many demands in stressful situations and dealing with  difficult relationships.

Finally the idea that consumerism leads to happiness has proven to be an illusion; according to a study by Lan Nguyen Chaplin and Deborah Roedder John. “Researchers have found that low self-esteem and materialism are not just a correlation, but also a causal relationship where low self esteem increases materialism, and materialism can also create low self-esteem.”

In conclusion when we find ourselves losing control over our environment we have to ask ourselves why and put ourselves back in charge of our lives by making conscience decisions based on real needs.  As Thoreau so aptly stated “simplify.”

The post Does Buying in Bulk Save Money or Just Clutter Our Lives? appeared first on Your Tasks Our Time.

Plan ahead.  Be sure to set enough time aside to allow you to get the job done correctly.

1) There are two basic categories in children’s rooms: toys/play items and clothes.

2) Start with one area of the room at a time.  Sort out the items in that area and move to the next. For example start with the closet and when you are finished move to the toy chest.

3) First make piles and label them as, keep, donate, sell, and garbage.

4) Divide the items in the keep pile into categories such as games, puzzles, general toys, cards, arts and craft items, school supplies, books, and papers for filing.

5) Go through your child’s closet – empty it out completely and sort as above.

6) After you have sorted it is very important to decide how to use the space you have.

7) Decide what items of the keep pile will remain in the room and which items need to be put away in another part of the house.

8) Decide if any closet space will be used for items other than clothing.

9) Places to store out of season clothing or clothing for the future are a top closet shelf, under the bed store or a chest. These places can also be used for extra bedding, blankets or sleeping bags.

10) Decide what items are used the most. These items should be stored in the most convenient places, if it is easy to get it is easy to put away. This is one of the most important things to keep in mind when learning how to organize a kid’s room.

11) Next, decide what containers or storage items you will need based on what’s remaining in your child room. This is an important step so take your time and assess what you have before you buy anything.

12) Consider putting the room back together with your child.  It’s a great learning experience and they are more likely to keep it organized if they are part of the process.

Darla Pompilio

Your Tasks – Our Time, Inc

The post Organizing Your Child’s Room appeared first on Your Tasks Our Time.